A TEXT message war between two schoolgirls launched a large scale battle between adults, a court heard.

The texts were flying between the girls aged 14 and 15 in Hemlington and at 11pm the elder girl’s mother went out to speak to the other mum, said prosecutor Jennifer Dempster.

But on a grassy area she was approached by relatives of the other girl and a fight broke out.

Another girl suffered a punctured lung and several people had bruising in the incident on May 6. The younger texter’s mother and the mother’s partner were arrested and charged with unlawful wounding, actual bodily harm, assault and two common assaults, Teesside Crown Court heard.

But the prosecution accepted guilty pleas to affray from the pair, Michael Lawrence, 24, and his partner Alexandra Barrett, 32.

Graeme Gaston, defending, said that mother-of-three Barrett had been upset by the threatening text messages to her daughter because she herself had suffered abuse as a child.

Robin Turton, defending Lawrence said that he now wanted to become a positive role model to his two daughters. Lawrence accepted that he should not have got involved but he had not started it.

Judge John Walford said: “Not without a good deal of hesitation I have decided I’m not going to send either of you immediately to prison today.”

Lawrence of Coatham Close, Hemlington, was given a nine month prison sentence suspended for two years with 200 hours community work.

Barrett of Faygate Court, Hemlington, was given two years community supervision with 150 hours unpaid work.